Budget

Budget

pared

at work

session

By Gerald Ochs

Rappahannock News Writer

The Superintendent’s draft school budget for 2001-2002 that, though unpublished, appeared to be on the order of $10 M, was reduced to a more palatable amount in the vicinity of $9.25 M. That still exceeds last year’s budget by some $860,000, but the budget work sessions have just begun.

At last Sunday afternoon’s first budget work session, Superintendent Dr. David Gangel introduced his cuts to his own preliminary budget by noting that “ . . . the bottom line is something that needs to be examined.” He proceeded to explain that he could reduce the proposed capital budget by the $348,500 allocated for RCES lagoon repairs and water tank replacement by shifting these costs to end-ofyear surpluses, should there be a sufficient amount remaining.

He also showed cuts of an additional $376,949 to the capital budget by deferring projects including building materials for a field house, the phase 1 electrical upgrade at the elementary school, air conditioning and fans at various locations in both schools, a new heating system in the school board office, and- an emergency backup generator for the high school, and an additional $41,609 in cuts that Dr. Gangel said that he feels he can make without impacting programs.

These revisions do not impact the 9.11 percent teacher salary increase that he proposed at February’s school board meeting.

School Board Chairman Wesley Mills asked for comments from Board members, and their responses indicated that much thought and analysis had been applied to the initial draft budget released only a few days earlier.

Board member Franklin Warner said that his approach to the budget review was “to look at it with the expectation that it could pass the Board of Supervisors.” He expressed some concerns about the lack of justification or backup for certain budget items, and established priorities for cuts to the draft, among which were nearly

See BUDGET, Page A8